Part 10: Laser Tag

Chapter 9: Laser Tag

A tall, athletic-looking blonde woman answered the door. She spoke slowly, with a slight accent, and chose her words carefully.


most hunters are good, some have gone bad; I track them down. My job is to hunt evil hunters, but I can hunt anything! I dislike guns, but give me a weapon with a blade, and I am deadly!"

Rudo banged his fist on the table. "You're an insult to hunters everywhere, that's what you are! Oh, sure, you say you're only interested in catching corrupt hunters, but the message is loud and clear: hunters can't be trusted, so they need a band of armed thugs watching their every move!"

A faint, wry smile formed in the corner of Anna's mouth. "If hunters want to be trusted, perhaps they should be more trustworthy. Where do you think the Scoundrels obtained their dynamite?"

Rudo paled. "You can't mean..."

Anna nodded. "I personally tracked down the corrupt hunter who had sold them the explosives. I have heard enough about you to be aware of the importance of that particular case to you. I have no grudge against you, and I hope that we can work together."



"That's all very well," I said, "but we don't know anything about you, Anna. As a show of good faith, would you like to tell us about yourself?"

Anna shrugged. "I am a guardian, trained in various styles of armed combat. I have travelled here to help you. What else do you need to know?"

"I see," I said dubiously. "Well, our next destination is Roron. Do you have any objection to picking over a garbage dump for a jet scooter?"

Anna's eyes narrowed. "Don't patronise me. Wherever we are going, I've been to worse places before. But first, we should visit the town of Kueri. I need new equipment."

"I didn't mean to cause any offence. Kueri it is, then."

Amy raised her right hand shyly.

"Yes, Amy? Do you have something to say?"

"I hate to ask, but is it okay if I sit this one out? It doesn't sound like a very dangerous mission, and after the Biosystems lab I don't know how many more horrible smells I can take."

She sidled up closer to me.

"Besides," she whispered, "I'm worried about Rudo. I don't think we should leave him alone here in the mood he's in."

She was right: a few natives and scavenging Biomonsters were unlikely to pose any real hazard to us, and Nei, Hugh and I all had healing techniques anyway. Amy would be more useful at home.

"Fair enough. Amy, you and Rudo can stay here for now."

Rudo stared down, avoiding eye contact. "Fine."



It didn't matter. I didn't need Rudo. With my Githu technique, I had our offence well and truly covered.




Surprisingly, the area north of Kueri was full of new Biomonsters we hadn't encountered in the lab. Were there Biomonsters coming from some other source, maybe even Climatrol itself?

Hugh tested out his own offensive techniques on one of them, the Fang. Gen caused DNA damage and rapid cellular aging, but worked too slowly to be effective in combat. Well, I wasn't bringing Hugh along for his fighting skills.



Anna's slashers more than made up for Hugh's deficiencies. She could guide them to hit multiple Biomonsters at once, if they were clustered close enough together.



Wolfangs were fast and aggressive, but had little natural armour: my sword, Nei's claws and Anna's slashers tore them apart easily.



As we continued south and east around the edge of the lake, I could see the Red Dam to the east and Climatrol, our ultimate destination, to the north.



The Center was another Biomonster that had inexplicably developed the ability to shoot laser beams. Hugh mumbled something about reverse photosynthesis, but we were both more focused on not getting shot to death by it than understanding what made it tick.



Anna had little aptitude for techniques, but the few she knew were moderately useful. Ner stimulated the adrenal glands, heightening reflexes.



One of the most dangerous Biomonsters we encountered on our way was the Head Rot. Head Rots were what happened when a Carrier was infected by a Mushroom, and the result wasn't pretty. The Head Rot was heavily armoured and its brain was a deadly weapon, lashing out with acid-soaked nerve fibres like stinging tentacles.



Finally, after following a long trail that curved east, south, west and back to the north, we reached Kueri.



The people of Kueri were descended from seafarers, but sea travel had become redundant long ago.



Once the teleport stations were introduced to every town, Mother Brain in her wisdom banned sea travel in the interest of public safety. Of course, as an agent I had a certain amount of authority to bend the rules: I could confiscate the natives' jet scooter and use it for my own purposes if necessary.



different in the ocean, they say it's because of water from the lake."

Hmm. So the lake was connected to the ocean via an underground passage visible from the surface. That might make a useful access route to Climatrol.



The town also had a significant native population, but they weren't particularly helpful. Humans and natives had a history of conflict over resources, as humans had gradually expanded into native lands.



Kueri's selection of weapons and armour was superb. We bought a pair of laser slashers for Anna, a pair of laser claws and boots fitted with retractable blades for Nei, and a pair of Acidshots for Hugh. Hugh winced at the thought of using Acidshots in combat, but while they were brutal weapons they were also light and highly effective, especially against armoured Biomonsters.



In the far south end of town was a small laboratory. Curious about what it was doing here, I knocked on the door. A bright-eyed young man answered and began to explain his research to me.



"Isn't that that stuff that you put in your mouth and then set on fire and it makes you hungry?" Nei asked.

The scientist chuckled. "No, not quite."


The leaves of that tree produce a large amount of oxygen; I want to use the leaves to make a special gum that lets you breathe underwater!"

Well, that sounded like a pretty crazy idea to me, but like I already said, I'm not a biologist.



He handed me a photograph of the plant and returned to his work. If this Maru-whatsit stuff actually worked, it'd certainly be helpful for getting through the passage from the ocean to the lake.



Before setting out for Roron, we returned home to rest, recuperate and check up on Rudo. He seemed to be in a slightly better mood than when we left him.

"Rolf, you're back. Pity you brought that woman back with you. Do you have the jet scooter yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. I'll be going straight to Roron after this."



"That'll be our newest arrival," said Amy. "Can you take him with you? Please?"